It was easy to distinguish the Film Studies students from those of us who were taking these courses as electives. We said "movies" whereas they said "cinema." Additionally, we focused on the story and they, more on lighting techniques and camera angles. They seemed to enjoy analyzing the process of movie-making more than the movies themselves. Please God, never let me reach a point where I'm analyzing all the fun out of the movies.
Over the years, I've developed a contempt for amateur movie snobs. You know the type. They fill the comment sections of movie forums. They use the word "overrated" a lot, as they believe that any movie that has mass appeal is contemptible. They talk a lot about bad acting or bad storylines as though they're seeing something the unsophisticated masses are too dumb to pick up on.
They also refer to actors only by their last names. I recently read a comment on a movie forum from a young guy who referred to The Break-Up as "Anniston's best work." I smiled out loud at this. I suspect "Anniston" would too, as she doesn't seem to take herself or her "craft" too seriously. She would recognize the statement as being just as silly and pompous as Jolie's right leg.
My Love for Bad Movies
No matter how bad a movie might be, it still involves a group of people who were doing their best with what they had. So, even if a film isn't deserving of 90 minutes of my time, it's deserving of my respect.
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I have thoroughly enjoyed some of the worst movies ever made. A movie may be bad in its entirety, but there's usually a compensating element in there somewhere--scenery or an atmosphere, maybe--that earns a place on my movie shelf. Yes, I actually go looking for bad movies. They're not easy to find, either, because in some cases, it would seem that I alone represent the demand for them. For example, I recently found The Sweet Ride on eBay and grabbed it right up. Made in 1968, it stars Tony Franciosa as a beach bum, and Jacqueline Bissett as a rich, rebellious party girl who hangs with the surfers for a while in their beach shack. I like it because it features a cool supporting role by Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island. That's all it takes for me. If there's one cool character, I'll sit through no end of atrociousness.
Genres, the good and the bad
Every movie fan has an era or a genre that stirs a passion. My favorite genre is film noire. I love watching the detectives standing tall in their suits and hats. I love the women in their tailored skirts and blouses and veiled hats. I love that everyone smoked and drank. I love the subtle sexuality that winds throughout these films. I love the campy titles: Deadline at Dawn. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. This Gun for Hire.Whenever Hollywood tries to redo film noire (I guess we're calling it neo-noire), they get a lot of flack from the film snobs, who seem to believe that a genre should be frozen in time and never touched again. I disagree. I am grateful that modern directors are keeping film noire alive with movies like Chinatown, LA Confidential, and Mulholland Falls. They're familiarizing younger movie-goers with a genre that might otherwise have been locked in a vault and withheld from future generations.
Film snobs also pick on film adaptations of novels, saying the movie is never as good as the book. Usually they're not, but sometimes they are. I felt that The Color Purple, Jaws, and The Godfather were all better movies than the novels on which they were based. Same goes for remakes, which everyone claims are never as good as the originals. Again, sometimes they are. For instance, I think Al Pacino made Scarface a better movie than the original. I also prefer the remake of The Birdcage to the original French version La Cage aux Folles. And lastly, Gary Oldman's quirky Dracula is just as appealing to me as the Bela Lugosi classic. That's my two cents.
As far as genres go, let's not forget that just because a film was part of a classic genre doesn't automatically mean it's a good film. There was some bad film noire. There was certainly bad classic science fiction, though I think most of us are OK with that. For instance, how many times is the boat that the sea creature is tossing around an actual and obvious toy in a tub? How many times have you seen the airplane hanging from a visible string, or the zippers on the backs of the monster costumes? These are the elements that turn bad movies into cult favorites. In fact, because it honored bad science fiction cult films, Rocky Horror Picture Show became a cult film itself.
Movies that represent a well-known style but no actual genre
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I love British movies that epitomize the 1960's culture. They featured Swinging London, go-go boots, and cool chicks with lots of eye makeup and big manes of hair (Georgy Girl, Alfie, Casino Royale). I love the Southern Gothic thriller, the ones that are usually set in the bayou (Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte is a good one. The 1987 Gothic thriller, Sister Sister is one of my favorite bad ones). I love the British Gothic suspense films, the ones with the mansions, thunderstorms, and women who carried candlelabras through the dark of night (The Pit and the Pendulum, The Innocents; all those Dracula movies by Hammer Films). Three types of formula movies I don't like
(1) The romantic comedy. The target demographic is young women, though women of all ages seem drawn to them. Their appeal is based on their reassuring predictability.
(2) The sex comedy. These films target 18-30 year-old males. A sampling: Good Luck Chuck, American Pie, The 40 Year-Old Virgin. For many women, these movies feel like an hour and a half of being hit in the face with a penis. It's only fair, though. Many a man has suffered through a romantic comedy that has made him feel like he's being smothered by a vagina.
The goal of the male sex comedy is to feature as many breast implants as possible. While their story lines tend to be a little more creative than those of the romantic comedy, they follow a well-worn formula, too. The following elements will always be present: the oddball best friend; a good woman who is either out of the man's league or is otherwise unavailable to him; at least one man behaving badly; an encounter with the law; and a misunderstanding that jeaopardizes the guy's chance of getting the girl. The sex comedy is basically soft-core porn with a veil of humor thrown over it. Just speaking for myself here, if I'm in the mood for porn, I'm not going to sit through all the shenanigans of the male sex comedy. I'm going to go straight for the real thing.3) Lastly is the big budget sci-fi movies like Star Wars, Men in Black, Independence Day, which appeal mostly to a cult following of young techies. While I don't care for these films, I hold them in high esteem. They work hard for the money. They're less formulated than the romantic comedy or the sex comedy. They're usually meticulously written and directed. I've watched sections of these movies once they come out on cable, but I've never gone to the theater and watched one of them from beginning to end. However, I suspect they are our future classics, so thumbs up in advance.
In fact, thumbs up to all movies, whether they're good, bad, or unwatcheable. I may not like a movie, but someone else might, in which case it has value. Goodnight and respect.
You covered a lot of ground with this entry. Just want to say that Noir is also a favorite genre of mine. Kiss Me Deadly, for example, is a tremendous film of its type -- the hard-boiled detective. I also like all three of the latter-day flicks you named.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with you about amateur movie snobs. Ever since Siskel & Ebert debuted, everyone (myself included) has learned to be a bit of a critic. I guess that's fine, as long as people remember, art has subjective meaning depending on the viewer and most movies are made to sell tickets, not necessarily be high art.
And I agree, too, that a remake is sometimes better than the original. Bram Stoker's Dracula is an awesome achievement and hones close to the original source material despite its rather operatic flourishes. The Lugosi original was actually based on a somewhat condensed and rearranged version of the novel that was first performed as a stage play. Lugosi had his moments, but Oldman, not to mention Christopher Lee are easily his equals. Another remake that was superior to the original was The Thomas Crown Affair, and I say that as a guy who loved Steve McQueen and thought the original was quite good. Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo were better yet.
Last but not least, I think there are two genres that can sometimes overlap, which are the romantic comedy and the chick flick. As a man, I have seen romantic comedies I like, if they're distinguished by a male lead that's more than a two-dimensional cipher for all things good and/or bad about "men." Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib for example are hugely engaging for both sexes -- two great actors and off-screen lovers at the top of their respective and collaborative games. The chick flick (or as I call it, an estrogen fest) is basically a movie that manages to evoke nothing so much as a beauty-parlor gab fest. The men in these movies are all characatures and tend to leave what few male viewers there may be out there in the audience pretty much SOL for two hours. Still, that said, Reese Witherspoon is as cute as them come. And, conversely, the male equivalent of the Chick Flick, epitomized by Rambo for example, are equal-opportunity offenders when it comes to female characters who lack depth or realism.
Funny. Before I edited this article down to a manageable size, I had The Thomas Crown Affair in there as a better remake, and Kiss Me Deadly as one of my favorites in the film noire genre.
ReplyDeleteI thought of adding another category, which would have been the flip side of "bad films I love." This would be "great films I didn't like." The Royal Tenenbaums. The Incredible Lightness of Being. Citizen Kane. These are three examples of films for which I have the utmost respect, but didn't like.
Re. the exclusionary aspect to chick flicks and action movies....you're so right that they make the opposite gender of the intended audience very one-dimensional. I had a thought after I wrote this article, though: I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. I think both men and women should have their gender-specific enclaves, whether it be privately owned golf clubs or gyms. Places they can go without having to worry about the sensibilities of the opposite gender. Movies should be similar sanctuaries. Chick flicks and action films should not have to try to address the needs of the opposite gender in any way. There should also be an unspoken agreement that women will not drag men to chick flicks. Correspondingly, men get to go out for the night with their guy friends and watch action movies with no guilt. I would love to see theaters set up one night a week where they would sell beer and ribs on guy's action film night and have a chocolate fountain set up for chick flick night... :)